UV Glassing

Glassing with Soltek UV Technology

Why should I use UV curing technology in my glassing factory?

UV curing technology offers significant productivity and quality improvements over traditional (or MEKP) curing methods. UV curing allows you to control the curing process meaning you can glass the board to perfection before actually curing it. Once exposing to UV light cure is effected in 5-10 minutes. The board will be fully cured to maximum strength and stiffness. This is two to three times better than MEKP curing.

The quality of the board produced will be much better. You can be assured that as the board leaves your factory it will be have maximum performance properties. Also since you are using Soltek UV Catalyst+ you can be assured that the resin on the board will stay clearer or more transparent for longer. As a peroxide, MEKP will discolour or go yellowy/brown after prolonged exposure to the sun.

The time taken to make a board using UV curing compared to MEKP, is over- halved and in some cases almost quartered. Thus in the time it takes you to make a board using MEKP curing a competitor can make 3-4 boards. As you can see the productivity improvements are huge. Using UV curing also reduces waste since excess resin can be collected and re-used either on other boards, for repair jobs or fin fits.

Lastly, using UV curing produces 4 times less styrene emission compared to MEKP. That means UV curing is not only better for your health but is better for the environment in general.

Soltek UV Catalyst+ cured resin strength after 10 minutes compared to MEKP cured resin after 24 hours.Soltek UV Catalyst+ cured resin modulus (a stiffness indicator) after 10 minutes compared to MEKP cured resin after 24 hours.

Soltek UV Catalyst+ cured resin total styrene emissions versus MEKP cured resin (total test time = 80 minutes).

Why should I use Soltek UV Catalyst+ over other products?

Soltek UV Catalyst+ is the only UV curing product on the market which offers prolonged resistance to discolouration. UV curing in general tends to resist discolouration of the resin for much longer than MEKP curing. We at Soltek however, have chemically formulated UV Catalyst+ specifically for the surfing industry giving you not only optimal cure times and performance properties, but increased protection against the resin discolouring or going yellow/brown. 

Soltek UV Catalyst+ also comes in two handy sizes for immediate use. This means you simply tip the product into either a tin (4kg) or pail (20kg) of resin and mix in. Once dissolved you can start using it straight away.

Soltek UV Catalyst+ is the most advanced UV curing catalyst currently available within the surfing industry. Use it and you’re using the best!